Sightseeing at Olympic

Coastal overlook above one of Olympic's wilderness beaches; sea stacks and tide pools visible along the shoreline, best at sunset.

Best at sunset

Quick roadside Pacific pull-off on US-101 with no trail; binoculars useful for spotting sea otters and migrating gray whales.

Best at sunset

Half-mile paved trail from Hurricane Ridge with views across Port Angeles and the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Vancouver Island; stay on pavement to protect fragile alpine meadows.

Views into the canyon where Lake Mills reservoir once sat, reached by a 3.4-mile hike from Madison Falls parking; the Glines Canyon Dam was removed in 2014, and the Elwha is running free.

One of the largest temperate rain forests in the country, on the wet west side of the Olympics. The visitor center at the end of the 18-mile Hoh Road is the trailhead for the Hall of Mosses and Spruce Nature Trail — short loops under moss-draped maples and towering Sitka spruce and hemlock. This corner gets 12 to 14 feet of rain a year, so expect green, dripping, and quiet. The road and lot fill by midday in summer; arrive early.

Good all day

Roadside pull above Lake Crescent, a glacier-carved lake 250 feet deep with unusually clear blue water, visible from the shoulder of Highway 101.

Roadside viewpoint above the Morse Creek drainage near the Hurricane Ridge Road, with open views toward the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

On a clear day, open views across the valley and the Strait of Juan de Fuca toward Vancouver Island from the north Olympic Peninsula.

Overlook above Ruby Beach, known for wave-carved sea stacks and massive driftwood logs piled along the shoreline; best at sunset when the light rakes the coastal rock.

Best at sunset

Roadside pull on the Sol Duc River Road where the river drops over a series of basalt ledges; late summer and fall bring chinook salmon visible from the overlook.

A wide waterfall that splits into channels as it drops into a narrow canyon on the Sol Duc River, reached by an easy 1.6-mile round-trip walk through old-growth forest from the end of the Sol Duc Road. A footbridge crosses right below the falls. It runs hardest during spring snowmelt, and the trail links to the Lover's Lane loop and the Sol Duc Hot Springs.

Good all day

Short trail to a hidden view of the Olympic Mountains tied to the Elwha River restoration story; interpretation panels explain where the water comes from.